Everhart robbed of 2 pieces

23 Jailed For Non-support

By DAWN ZERA For Times Leader
 Saturday, November 19, 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1D 





Young Cohen Hodge will soon move out of state with his family and will have
to say a sad goodbye to Carl. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Carl is big, rough and leaves quite a mess, but 5-year-old Cohen loves him
anyway. His brother, Aidan, 8, and sister, Lydia, 20 months, also seem to love
Carl, but mom Lisa and dad Gabriel might be relieved to branch out away from
Carl - and his leaves. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Carl is a tree. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "One of the things my younger son said is he is going to miss Carl the most
when we sell the house," Lisa Hodge said. "But I keep telling everyone I think
(Carl) is probably the biggest tree in Kingston. I rake the leaves every day." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When the Hodges first moved into their 221 Lathrop St. home a couple of
years ago, Cohen was so taken by the massive maple tree in the front yard that
he christened the tree with a name. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Cohen's maternal grandmother thought it was so cute she bought one of the
trendy new tree "faces" and sent it to Kingston. And so Carl has had a face
for nearly a year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's not the first time trees have taken on personality - trees seem to
have a way of capturing the imagination, from the apple-throwing angry trees
in the film version of "The Wizard of Oz" to the generous tree in Shel
Silverstein's "The Giving Tree." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Did the Hodge family dress Kingston Carl up for Halloween? Perhaps disguise
him as an apple tree or Christmas tree? Have they wrapped scarves around his
neck in the middle of winter to keep him warm? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 No, they haven't gone that far, but a 5-year-old boy's imagination doesn't
need much to conjure up the magic of Carl, his sturdy branches kindly shading
the family home and perhaps sadly waving goodbye as they leave (pun intended)
him behind. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The good news is Carl has, er, reproduced. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "When we first moved into our house, the gutters hadn't been cleaned in
years, and there were little Carl saplings growing out of them," Lisa Hodge
said. Some friends took some of the saplings to Maryland and planted them in
pots, so the Hodges hope to do the same with some of Carl's offspring. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We are hoping to take one of them with us to our new home in New York,"
Hodge said. And hence, Carl's legacy will grow beyond the boundaries of his
Kingston yard, thanks to the love of a family. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Is your tree almost a living, breathing member of your family? Does it have
a face to prove it? We're looking for the best - and best-loved - tree faces
in the area for an upcoming photo page. If you'd like yours included, call
Sandra Snyder at 831-7383 or send an e-mail to ssnyder@leader.net. Feel free
to share your story, too. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`carl' Deeply Rooted In Family's Hearts